FFVII Rebirth Developers Talked About the Reactive Music System

To celebrate the recent release of the FFVII Rebirth soundtrack in Japan, Famitsu interviewed Co-Director Motomu Toriyama, Music Supervisor Keiji Kawamori, and Composer Mitsuto Suzuki about the creation of the FFVII Rebirth soundtrack and the game’s reactive music. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

In the original Final Fantasy VII, the music for the overworld was an arrangement of the game’s main theme with some variations depending on where in the game you were. Toriyama said that, because of it, they decided to use the main theme as the base song for the open world of FFVII Rebirth and then made different arrangements depending on the area. For example, the Grasslands feature a more orthodox version, while for Cosmo Canyon they used a western and country sound, and Corel Desert uses country rock.

Additionally, the song was also used as the battle theme for the Grasslands as “FFVII Main Theme Battle Edit.” Kawamori added that he wasn’t sure if the song would work that way because of its slow tempo, but that it turned out great. Another example of the reactive music system in FFVII Rebirth includes the Remnawave Towers. Toriyama revealed that as the number of towers activated increases, the music becomes richer and more lavish. The director also said that this decision was made almost last minute.

Suzuki pointed out that the music for Queen’s Blood is also affected by the FFVII Rebirth reactive music system. For Chapter 5 tournament, the music in each round changes to enhance the feeling of excitement in a tournament setting. The BPM (beats per minute) also increase as the games progresses.

Furthermore, the song for Queen’s Blood has a distinct jazz style to it. However, for the tournament Suzuki decided to go with a big band style to make the scale feel different between the tournament and regular matches. This is also reflected in regular matches, with the music reacting depending on if the player has the advantage, is disadvantaged, or in neutral scenarios.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is now available for the PlayStation 5. The console exclusivity arrangement will end on May 29, 2024.